ArtAndes Blog

Mario Amano died this week at 64 years old. It’s impossible to grasp the depth of loss for the venerable Amano Museum, in Lima, Peru. Mario’s Father, Yoshitaro Amano, started the museum in 1964 with his vast collection of Pre-Incan textiles and ceramics.The collection especially highlights the Chancay Culture circa 1000-1470. 
I have visited the museum frequently since my first trip to Peru in 1985. At that time the private museum was only available by appointment. It was free of charge. 
Over the years I have taken many design elements from the museums collection of textiles and worked them into ArtAndes rug designs. I have frequently taken the Quispe family of master weavers there; for all of them, it was their first museum to know.
In 2018 I had the curator of the Weisman Art Museum, Lyndel King, and the White Bear Center of the Arts members, on a custom tour of Peru. The day we spent at Amano Museum was unforgettable for me. 
Doris Robles, the Museum curator of 40 years (same for Lyndel of Weisman) arranged for us to view the restoration part of the museum and visit with Mario Amano. To be in the company of these museum heads discussing their shared mission of preservation was humbling. I also felt how vulnerable these great institutions are.
Their value to humanity and their ability to carry on, is needed now more than ever.